Biography
Athanasius Aleshkin died with a young, but perpetuated his name in history as a war hero and a member of Moscow defense. For a long time, the details of his biography were known to a little, but everything changed after the film was released, shedding the light on the feat of the Podolsk cadets.Childhood and youth
Athanasius Ivanovich Aleshkin was born on January 18, 1913 in the village of Church, Smolensk region. Until the October Revolution, the boy's father was black-worked on the railway, and his mother was laughing in a psychiatric hospital, but she lost her job and became a housewife.
Parents took care that the son gets secondary education. At first he studied at school in the village of Renewal, then - in the sevenletk, which he graduated in 1928. The next year, the young man helped his father on the railway, then entered the agricultural technical school in Vyazma and mastered the craft of agronomas.
After completion of Athanasius's studies, half a year he worked in a specialty in the Cardimovsky Rural Council, but in 1932 he joined the Komsomol and was enrolled in the 99th artillery regiment. Aleshkin was learning as a cadet and was appointed commander of the department.
When the term of the mandatory service has expired, the young officer decided to continue their military career. He was enrolled on the superior service and received the post of assistant commander of the platoon, at which he stayed until the fall of 1935. After that, Athanasius entered the Moscow military school of the National Security Council on the Artillery Department, where he studied for 3 years and was awarded the title of Lieutenant.
For some time, Aleshkin continued to work in Moscow, then he was sent to Podolsk, where he commanded the platoon of the cadets of the Artillery School.
Personal life
About the personal life of the hero knows little. He was married to Elizabeth Stakhanova, who after marriage took his surname. The couple brought up the son of Vladimir, whose fate remained unknown.Feat and death
In October 1941, Maloyaroslavetsky direction was considered a weak point in the defense of Moscow. To protect the Ilyinsky frontier, it was decided to direct the cadets of Podolsk schools, which should have held the enemy's launch before the submissions arrive. Aleshkin also found himself on the battlefield as a commander of the 4th battery of the artillery school.
The situation was complicated by the fact that most yesterday's cadets sent to the forefront were quite young. Many could not handle the weapon, which was also catastrophically lacked. We had to use training samples and even museum exhibits.
But the defenders of Ilinsky turns were distinguished by courage and the desire to serve for the benefit of the Motherland. Already after arriving at the firepoint, they began to defense and fought, demonstrating courage and dedication, which no one expected from 17-year-old boys. As a result, it was possible to destroy dozens of tens and armored vehicles of the enemy, as well as thousands of German soldiers who were amazed by such resistance from the Soviet military.
But the defense could not be held for a long time if it were not for the resourcefulness of the commanders. Of particular importance is the feat of Athanasius Ivanovich. The lieutenant disguised the dot under Sarah's log house and led the shelling on the enemy from there. When German soldiers opened a retaliatory fire, the officer gave an order to move the gun to the spare trench, where he had worried about the attack.
The Nazis were confident that after such a strong shelling in shelter, no one could survive and confidently went to the attack, but the subordinates of Aleshkin again occupied a defensive position and continued to destroy enemy soldiers. For this dot, Athanasius Ivanovich was named inconsistent, or a coming dot.
The lieutenant managed to restrain the enemy's onslaught for more than a week, although initially Podolsky cadets needed to hold out at least 5 days, but as a result, the cunning of the military uncovered. On October 16, 1941, the Germans came up to Dota from the rear and threw it with grenades, which was the cause of the death of the commander and another 6 artillery officers who were in subordination.
In general, during the defense of Ilinsky turn out of 3,500 Podolsk cadets, about 1000 survived. They waited for the arrival of the reserve forces and were able to continue their studies in Ivanovo. Thanks to these soldiers, the next generations learned about Aleshkin, who managed to detain the enemy of life at the cost of life and influence the outcome of the Second World War.